The potential applications of nanotechnology are pervasive and the expected impact on society is huge. Nanotechnology holds the promise of scientific breakthroughs in a wide range of fields and has immense potential for industry and manufacturing, computers, healthcare, and the environment. The preparation of nanotechnology workforce for the next decade is a major challenge for the progress of the new technology. It is estimated that about 2 million workers will be needed worldwide in 10-15 years from now. Unfortunately, the process of teaching students about nanotechnology and the tools and instruments used in the field can be a difficult proposition. Most of the critical tools for nanotechnology, such as electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, or ion beam systems, are prohibitively expensive. Further, such instrumentation is complex and difficult to maintain. Many teachers, especially in K through 12, undergraduate, or non-traditional education, do not have expertise or familiarity with these instruments or their operation. As a result, such instrumentation is typically unavailable for most students below the advanced graduate level.
There are a number of electron microscope simulators available that are designed for use in schools. See, for example, virtual microscopy web pages by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University Research Foundation, Tallahasse Fla., at: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/electronmicroscopy/magnify1/index.html As far as Applicants are aware, however, all of the simulators developed to date are purely software simulators. Software simulations do not provide students with the feeling of actually operating the instrument. Further, the limited skills that can be learned by students operating software simulators do not translate well to real world applications. Certainly, training on a prior are software simulator would not provide adequate training to teach a student how to operate an actual instrument.
What is needed is a simulated instrument that more closely mimics the operation of an instrument such as an electron microscope in order to more faithfully reproduce the experience of running a real machine for students. In a preferred embodiment, such a simulated instrument could also be modeled after an actual instrument so that students operating the simulator could be trained to operate the actual instrument.